Jewish Plays Project Announces Top 10 Finalists for 6th Annual Playwriting Contest

The Jewish Plays Project has announced the Top 10 finalists for the 6th Annual Jewish Playwriting Contest.

The Top 10 plays are:

• After the War by Motti Lerner (Ramat HaSharon, Israel)
• arrhythmia by Ted Malawer (Staatsburg, NY)
• Bar Mitzvah Boy by Mark Leiren-Young (Victoria, British Columbia)
• Berlin Diary by Andrea Stolowitz (Portland, OR)
• Book of Esther by Gina Stevensen (Brooklyn, NY)
• How to Conquer America: A Mostly True History of Yogurt
  by David Myers (Los Angeles, CA)
• I Do Today by Sarah Myers (Minneapolis, MN)
• The Laws of Blood by Barry Jay Kaplan (Woodstock, NY)
• Menorah by Cary Gitter (Astoria, NY)
• Sonata for Four Hands by Bridget Erin (Denham Springs, LA)

For more about the plays, visit www.JewishPlaysProject.org.

"This year's Top 10 list / group is one of our highest quality ever," said Artistic Director David Winitsky. "They work at the intersection of identities: what does it mean to be American and Jewish? What does it mean to be an immigrant and Jewish? To be a woman or gay or a convert and Jewish? In a highly divided world, these are critical questions."

This year, writers submitted 219 plays, hailing from 29 states and 4 countries, which a panel of 40+ artists, literary managers and industry leaders evaluated.

Now in its sixth year, the Jewish Playwriting Contest has assembled an enormous collection of contemporary Jewish plays - 1,1,32 plays by 884 writers in 32 states and 9 countries. Playwrights selected for the Contest include Jon Caren, Lauren Yee, Lenelle Moise, Jennifer Maisel, Sarah Gancher, Deb Margolin, MJ Kaufman and Lauren Feldman.
"I could not be more thrilled by this news. I am so excited and honored to develop Menorah with the JPP, an organization I admire deeply. This is fantastic," raved Top 10 playwright Cary Gitter.

The JPP now takes these Top 10 plays on a tour of the U.S., performing it's signature Txt2Thtr events for Jewish thought leaders and wide audiences in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Hartford, Silicon Valley, Fairfax (VA) and Charlotte (NC) In each city, audiences will vote on which plays should continue, with the winner announced in April of 2017. (See full Contest scoring rules HERE.)

The winning play will receive the featured workshop production in the sixth OPEN: Festival of New Jewish Theater at the 14th Street Y in June of 2017.

Previous JPP plays have gone on to world premieres or continued development in New York (BAM, The Flea, the Abingdon, 4th Street Theater), Washington, DC (Theater J, The Hub), and Tel Aviv (Hazira Art), as well as Detroit, Minneapolis, and Cleveland.

"Ever since I heard of this contest, it has been my dream opportunity for this play," said 2017 Top 10 Finalist Bridget Erin.

"I could not be more thrilled by this news. I am so excited and honored to develop Menorah with the JPP, an organization I admire deeply. This is fantastic," raved Top 10 playwright Cary Gitter.

Producers, artistic directors, literary managers or other new play enthusiasts interested in these plays should contact Mr. Winitsky at david@jewishplaysproject.org for more information.

The Jewish Plays Project puts bold, progressive, Jewish conversations on world stages. The JPP's innovative and competitive development vehicle invests emerging artists in their Jewish identity; engages Jewish communities in the vetting, selecting and championing of new voices; and secures mainstream production opportunities for the best new plays.

In its six years, the JPP has vetted 1,132 plays from 884 writers in 32 states and 9 countries, and actively developed 34 plays, 18 of which have gone on to production in New York (BAM, the Flea, 4th Street Theater, Dixon Place), Tel Aviv, London, Detroit, and around the U.S.

The JPP's signature method is Jewish Dramaturgy: matching the best minds in the Jewish community with the best 21st Century Jewish plays. If you are interested in becoming a Jewish Dramaturg or an investor in our mission, visit www.jewishplaysproject.org.

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